Nurturing Creativity

My kindergarten is planning to hold an art exhibition to showcase children's art work. I feel very excited of the opportunity to work closely with children in art. It has been a myth that only some talented people are born with creativity, but actually creativity can be nurtured. While children need time, space and materials to explore and master art, 'expert input' is equally important. 'Expert input' could mean learning a new skill, looking at other artists' work, seeking feedback and so on. Even professional and semi-professional artists visit art galleries to find inspiration.

I decided to create clay sculpture with children for the exhibition. For sure, I have taken some risks. In five weeks time,  our children have to work very hard to pick up the necessary skills to manipulate clay to create what they have in mind. Initially, I encourage them to make the Maori wake, a kind of canoe used by the indigenous people of New Zealand. it will be manageable as young children will find it easier to poke and push into the clay than joining pieces of clay together. It also provide an opportunity to use various tools and see what effect each tool is able to achieve.

A week after making clay waka, something interesting happened. One child specifically asked to make a dinosaur. As I was not busy, so I sat with the boy and demonstrated all necessary skills to him. It amazed me that he was able to make a dinosaur that looks really good. Other teachers are equally amazed, as they recalled that his previous clay work used to look like lumps of clay. With a teacher sitting with a child, demonstrating, giving advice and feedback,  the child feels empowered. Most important of all, the mother has 'discovered' the creative side of the boy. (he is so proud of himself that he let his mum have a preview of his art work before the exhibition!)

Yes, creativity can be nurtured. I'll talk more about it, in the leading up to the art exhibition.

Boys in early childhood - The everlasting love for Transformers

The boys at kindergarten have been making Transformers with the Mobilo blocks. They took the initiatives and asked the teachers to bring out Mobilo on the day when we put them away. The flexibilty and varied combination of the blocks enabled the Transformers they made are able to 'transform', such as twist and turn, bend and stretch. The boys also incorporated Transformers into their pretend play, as they chased each other, they claimed that they were Transformers, which they thought have given them the license to 'scare' their friends! It's amusing to see them wearing sandpit spades on their arms, pretending to be the armor of the Transformers autobots.

However, the boys sometimes crossed the boundaries and displayed aggression. a couple of 'victims' were not able to deal with the situation and cried in shock, while some children went to the teachers for help.  I have been thinking how to extend their interests in Transformers?

One teacher brought in Transformers figurines and hung them down the ceiling for children to observe and draw. It worked for a day or so, but the temptation to pull the figurines down was too great that we decided to pack the Transformers away. Anyway, the interest to draw was not big, probably these boys are active and kinesthetic learners, so they interacted with 'the Transformers' in a physical way.

I talked with my teenage son who still keeps his Transformers in a safe place. He simply said, 'who doesn't like robots? Everyone likes robots!' I suggested that  fairies to girls was just like robots to boys, and my son agreed. Well, then it's fantasy play in the domain of boys?

Back to extending the boys' play relating to Transformers, what should/can I do next? The teachers in my kindergarten think of buying more Mobilo blocks. I am thinking about recording their knowledge and ideas about Transformers and then documenting and displaying them on the wall. This is a way to show that teachers value the interests of children. Through the documentation process, children are learning to express themselves, extending their verbal language to describe and explain. Also, the teachers will be demonstrating how to make ideas visible in writing and pictures.

Maggie Haggerty shared her observations of how a young child "interweave, talking, writing and reading" during his drawing of superheroes. Really inspiring!

What else could you think of?

The learning environment

'what does this say?' a child asked while studying a plaque made to commemorate
an ex teacher who passed away. I read out the words and she happily walked off. Another child pointed at the alphabets she was able to recognize and read them out. Interestingly, the plaque is providing opportunities for literacy learning. As a teacher of young children, I am always aware of the significance of print in the environment. We put labels everywhere at kindergarten, such as the kitchen, toilet, puzzle corner and so on. We positioned posters at the child's level to enable them to read/look at them or just ask questions.

a well planned environment definitely promote learning. Think about putting some flowers on the drawing tables to prompt children to observe and draw them. If you are frustrated by the stereotype five-petals flower drawn by children, try to look closely at the flowers and talk about the colors and shapes of the petal, stem and leaves. At the block corner, photographs of towers, bridges, and other architecture will certainly help. These photographs give children some reference and extra ideas, enriching their repertoire. I have seen a child who is used to build roads tried out a bridge.

Really think about the environment, use your imagination and plan ahead.

Literacy in the early years - Reading to young children

A child in my kindy always asks me to read to her. She spends most of her day  reading with me. Her favorite book keeps changing. After she has enough of a particular book for several days, she would pick another one. I am not sure whether she really enjoys reading or craves for a special time with a teacher. I have been thinking should I encourage her to do some other things apart from reading? Eventually, I decide to follow her lead and let her determine when she is ready for venturing into other activities.

 I read to this little girl in various ways to enrich her learning experience. Sometimes, I dramatize my voice to bring in the element of drama. For musical development, I know that it is important to learn about talking voice and singing voice. Similarly, I think children will be benefited from learning how to change their voice to present a story effectively. It promote the development of verbal language. It's also an excellent opportunity to play with our imagination. We laugh at our silliness; hold our breath at the excitement and marvel at the fantasy...

Sometimes, I encourage the girl to participate in reading along. Young children have wonderful memory. I pause during my reading from time to time to let her fill in the words. She helps me 'reading' from memory, which also gives her a strong sense of achievement. We also discuss the plot; make prediction about what'll happen next; comment on how we feel about the story line and characters and so on.

Reading is actually an interactive experience, which involves more than literacy development. In short, it is reading with a child rather than reading to a child. Considering the benefits of reading, I do not mind reading the same book with a child for a hundred times. What do you think?

You may also want to borrow some ideas from Anita of the University of Victoria, New Zealand. Click the link here. Read more...if your are interested in a bicultural context.

clay with young children

I had clay today and I sat down with children to support them. As my kindy puts out play dough often, children know quite well how to create with play dough, but the skills with play dough cannot be transferable to working with clay. So, I decided to work closely with children to share my knowledge, passion and skills.

At times, children need to have the opportunities to explore freely. At other times, children benefit from 'teaching'. While some children just dived into clay right away, others felt uncomfortable and did not like the mess on their fingers and hands. I demonstrated the fun of creating with clay, showing them how to pound, knead, carve...simply getting my hands dirty. I reminded them that I can always wash my hands when I do not want to do any more. Actually, when I started sculpturing with clay, the children realized the potential and possibilities of clay, such as making animals with legs strong enough to stand. It's easy to make three dimensional objects, as clay is firm in texture and the shape can hold together.

The children came up with various imaginative ideas, and I coached the children along their creative process. After we had worked together for a while, when I was happy with what they have learnt and the children have developed some confidence and competence, I left and gave the children opportunities to explore further. My goal was to shift the balance of power back to the children and let them determine where to go next. I believe the strategies of 'hands-on' and 'hands-off' are both valid.

Lisa Terreni, a practicing artist and an ECE lecturer, observes that some children who do not usually draw or paint prefer creating with clay instead. She believes that children need to be offered an array of visual art opportunities so they are able to choose their preferred medium to express and communicate their ideas. I totally agree with her. She shared her experiences and knowledge on http://www.educate.ece.govt.nz/learning/exploringPractice/Literacy/UsingClayToDevelopLearning.aspx. Check it out.